See this poll on: https://poll.fm/9813078/embed
Give others the chance to vote.
Share this poll, because the more votes the better.
Create your own.
Opinions! We all have them. Find out what people really think with polls and surveys from Crowdsignal.
closed
Hello, I could not listen to these files in the studio, when I saw it when I was home, but I downloaded it to the laptop and listened to the headphones on the Apple, I could not find a difference, I think the converter 1 sounds clearer at high frequencies.
2 sounded better to me. But very difficult to tell a difference
I would be very shocked to hear that samples 1 were not Apogee. I've owned and used an Apogee for 15 years. All of the sample's from #1 SOUND like Apogee. IMO, it "reveals" more lowend. I don't feel that it adds lowend, but it allows the lowend to peak through....And to be quite honest, I love it!!!!!
Now, I could be wrong... Maybe Sample's 1 are Presonus. I don't think so, though. All of the sample's from #2 sound very good. Almost the same... They are clean, but it sounds like there's a lowcut on each sample (which then make it sound slightly cheap).
I'll add the lowcut if the sound should need it! I hate that interfaces do that. I also own a UAD Apollo 16 MK2 and it does the same thing. Drive's me crazy. Very difficult to mix the lowend properly. You're always guessing... REVEAL THE BASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!
I go with Sample #1 all the way. If that happens to be Presonus Quantum, then I'm running out and buying onje ASAP!
Now let's see....
#2 has is slightly more pronounced in the top end. Maybe it's a transient thing.
I prefer it since it adds just that little extra touch of realism.
But they are very close.
I assume #1 is the Quantum and #2 is the Apogee, which I think is already an impressive achievement.
If it's the other way around, then that would be even more impressive.
Both sound very good, I'd happily work with either of them. Judging on sound quality alone, I'd have a slight preference for #2.
In my opinion set#1 sounds slitely more natural, less harsh and warmer. I agree that the set#2 has seemingly sharper and more defined transients, particularly in the lo and middle frequencies, however I am not convinced that this is the main point in defining good from better. The difference is very subtle overall, almost unnoticeable, but the "mood" of the set #1 is more to my taste, a little more "intellectual" and "in depth". Also to my taste it has a little more air in the high frequencies. Again, this description is strictly my own opinion.
What I'm using: Yamaha HS8, Sennheiser HD650 Pro
Results: #2 in every category has more natural presence with less muddiness (though that's too strong a word for the very little muddiness there was in #1). All the samples of #2 had a presence that instantly made my ears go "yep, that's it".
I prefer number 2... the top end seems slightly more defined, although the differences between the two is negligible. Presonus definitely seems to offer more bang for your buck!
The two sound very similar to me, using both AKG K240DF and calibrated JBL 4406. I choose #1 because it seems to have a touch more clarity in the highs. I agree with John's assessment that #2 is a touch warmer, almost like adding a tiny bit of harmonic saturation. But it's so close that I could be imagining things lol. I may try this again with one of the blind A/B plugs and see what happens. Regards
Heard them on some Ultrasone Cans at home and hardly can tell any difference. I prefered Nr. 1 becuase it had a slight tick of more brightness.
On the Spectrum-meter in Studio One you can't tell a difference. there is a tiny little bit more in high frequencies on Nr. 1 too, but that also is very hard to tell.
If the Quantum is less expensive, it's the winner. Even if the preferred one was the other - the small difference does not justify the more money.
It may be my imagination because there seems to be very little difference between the two. But on my headphones I felt that with the finger picking guitar and the vocal , number 2 seemed to be a little warmer slightly fuller sound and almost unnoticeable more pleasing to my ear - ha,ha. I liked both but If getting the right answer was a life and death answer - the number 2 is my final answer. - John Llewellyn
I dragged the files into a new Studio One Professional 3.5.1 song. After four listens of each one, using Beyer DT770 cans and also with my Sceptre 8 monitors, I have to pick example 2 in all categories. It sounds more full, more real... but it's darned close! Example 1 on fingerpicked guitar sounded slightly brittle compared to 2.
Now I'm praying that #2 is indeed the Quantum.
PS. Get James Ivey to record some drums with both interfaces and let's compare those too?
Quite similar, but I preferred number 1. The second one sounded a bit artificial/clinical.
I'm missing some drum recordings here. These are 8 preamp interfaces and one would guess that drum recording would be one of the main reasons for buying one of these instead of one with fewer inputs/pres.
Listened with equalised AKG 7xx through optical in of Chord Mojo.
The 1st sample I'm guessing is Apogee as it has lower mid presence typical of their product line (I use a Symphony). Sample 2 had a slight 'sheen' which on the speaking part manifested as sibilance. The high mids sound nicer on first pass but when one has listened to all tracks, one would imagine that a slight harshness would be more obvious on a multitrack recording through this device.
If I switch to Senn HD650 (with high grade cables) the general differences remain, though the sybilance is less pronounced.
If it turns out that 2nd sample is Apogee, then I would be thinking seriously of investing in Presonus!!
I selected 1, but only because I preferred 1 on some tracks and 2 on others. If you started a project with one of these and had to finish with the other, you would be alright. The are close enough. They aren't a thousand dollars plus apart. You could buy this interface and a usable vocal mic for the same price as the Apogee. Sweet deal.
I almost ticked "Can't tell difference" but went back over them a couple times, and to me #2 has a very slight presence or "realness" that is just an ooch better. But if #1 was in my studio I'd still be dancin' in my backyard. That means PreSonus wins again, regardless if it's 1 or 2, because the audio difference is 1% and the price difference in 250%. Makes no sense to pass by the PreSonus, ESPECIALLY if you use Studio One. Please note that I am completely unequivocally biased because Studio One is the only DAW I've ever used, lol!